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English lesson plan · 12th grade (Year 13 in England) · 30 minutes

Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.11-12.9CCSS RL.11-12.5England: A-level English Literature (context, AO3)England: AP LiteratureEngland: GCSE English Literature (context)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative…; Drama terms: soliloquy, aside, foil, hamartia, catharsis…; Literary analysis: theme, symbol, ambiguity

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative…; Drama terms: soliloquy, aside, foil, hamartia, catharsis…; Literary analysis: theme, symbol, ambiguity). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which narrative technique matches this description? Writing that imitates the flow of a character's thoughts, often jumping between ideas. (stream of consciousness / epistolary / frame narrative / unreliable narrator) → stream of consciousnessPrompt: Think about who tells the story, in what form, and where the story starts.
  2. Which drama term matches this description? The fatal flaw or error of judgement that causes a tragic hero's downfall. (soliloquy / stage directions / hamartia / catharsis) → hamartiaPrompt: Who is the character speaking to: themselves, the audience, or other characters?
  3. Which narrative technique is used here? Each chapter is narrated by a different member of the family, so we see the same argument from four sides. (stream of consciousness / in medias res / multiple narrators / frame narrative) → multiple narratorsPrompt: Is the form unusual (letters, thoughts), does the story start mid-action, sit inside another story, or have a narrator we can't trust?

Hook · 3 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which literary movement matches this description? 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature.
  • Step 1: Literary movements share themes, styles and historical contexts; recognising them helps you write about context.
  • Step 2: Transcendentalism: 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: Transcendentalism
  • Answer: Transcendentalism
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which literary movement matches this description? 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature. (Modernism / Harlem Renaissance / Transcendentalism / Realism) → TranscendentalismPrompt: Think about the period and the key features: emotion and nature? terror? everyday life? experiment? jazz-age Harlem? self-reliance? play with fiction itself?
  2. Which literary movement does this description most closely match? A young woman explores a crumbling castle at midnight, hearing footsteps in locked rooms and finding a portrait whose eyes seem to follow her. (Modernism / Gothic / Transcendentalism / Harlem Renaissance) → GothicPrompt: Which features in the description are most distinctive?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which literary movement matches this description? 1830s–1840s New England: intuition, self-reliance and the spiritual value of nature. (Transcendentalism / Harlem Renaissance / Gothic / Postmodernism) → TranscendentalismPrompt: Think about the period and the key features: emotion and nature? terror? everyday life? experiment? jazz-age Harlem? self-reliance? play with fiction itself?
  2. Type the literary movement (in English) that matches this description. Late 18th–mid 19th century: emotion, imagination, nature and the individual over reason and convention. → RomanticismPrompt: Think about the period and the key features: emotion and nature? terror? everyday life? experiment? jazz-age Harlem? self-reliance? play with fiction itself?

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative….
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-12.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Which literary movement matches this description? Late 18th–mid 19th century: emotion, imagination, nature and the individual over reason and convention.

    • A. Romanticism
    • B. Harlem Renaissance
    • C. Realism
    • D. Postmodernism
  2. Question 2

    Which literary movement does this description most closely match? A novel takes place over a single day, jumping between characters' thoughts in long, unpunctuated passages and fragments of memory.

    • A. Romanticism
    • B. Harlem Renaissance
    • C. Modernism
    • D. Transcendentalism
  3. Question 3

    Type the literary movement (in English) that matches this description. Early 20th century: experiments with form, fragmented narratives and stream of consciousness.

    Answer

  4. Question 4

    Which literary movement matches this description? From the mid 18th century: mystery, terror, the supernatural and gloomy settings such as ruined castles.

    • A. Gothic
    • B. Romanticism
    • C. Transcendentalism
    • D. Harlem Renaissance
  5. Question 5

    Which literary movement does this description most closely match? An essayist lives alone in a cabin by a pond for two years, arguing that simple living close to nature reveals deeper truths.

    • A. Transcendentalism
    • B. Romanticism
    • C. Realism
    • D. Gothic
  6. Question 6

    Type the literary movement (in English) that matches this description. 1920s–1930s: a flowering of African American literature, music and art centred in Harlem, New York.

    Answer

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Answer key: Literary movements: Romanticism, Gothic, Realism, Modernism and more

  1. 1. A. Romanticism

  2. 2. C. Modernism

  3. 3. Modernism

  4. 4. A. Gothic

  5. 5. A. Transcendentalism

  6. 6. Harlem Renaissance